The Daily Texan - Super Connectedhttp://dailytexanonline.com/blogs/super-connected
While taking breaks from bringing you all the latest content, the Web team scours the internet to bring you the most interesting news, helpful apps, and entertaining updates out there. Follow along and stay SuperConnected.
enNew Texan digital services: Facebook giveaway contests [INFOGRAPHIC]http://dailytexanonline.com/blogs/super-connected/2013/12/03/new-texan-digital-services-facebook-giveaway-contests-infographic
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Everyone has felt the thrill of participating in a giveway, whether it&rsquo;s staring at the back of a lunchables box after the perfect cracker stacker, admiring the Ninja Turtles room makeover sweepstakes (complete with a large boom box and a beanbag with Donatello&rsquo;s face on it) or stuffing a submission box full of sweepstakes forms to better the odds of winning a shiny new car.</p>
<p>Now, thanks to the Daily Texan and the rest of Texas Student Media (TSM), that thrill doesn&rsquo;t stop in college. Introducing: the TSM Facebook Giveaways.</p>
<p>This summer, TSM gave away a Chromebook, and in the fall one lucky student won a 3-day Austin City Limits festival pass. The giveaways are hosted on the Daily Texan&rsquo;s Facebook page using a sweepstakes app like <a href="https://www.punchtab.com/" target="_blank">Punchtab</a>. The giveaway page is like-gated and records the entrant&rsquo;s email, so for every entry, the Daily Texan gets a Facebook like and newsletter subscriber for the Daily Digest. After entering the giveaway, participants, have the option to follow the Daily Texan and other TSM properties (KVRX, TSTV, Texas Travesty and Cactus Yearbook) on Twitter and Facebook to increase their chances of winning. Students not only get a chance to win an alluring prize, but they also get to establish a relationship with all of the University of Texas&rsquo; student-run media. The giveaways further connect the longhorn community to the latest news and happenings in music, comedy and student-run TV.</p>
<p>Since the inception, the TSM Facebook giveaways have generated on average 600 new email subscribers and 250 new followers across the 13 TSM social media outlets.</p>
<p>The TSM Facebook giveaways can also be sponsored by advertisers. If an advertiser provides a giveaway item such as a bike, they are naturally attracting students who are interested in owning a bike. When the contest is over, advertisers will be able to pay for the email list that contest generated, and those relationships with UT students will make it easier to expect sales down the line. The contest provides a non-intrusive way for advertisers to generate quality, active leads. Bigger sponsorships mean higher-priced items for the winners and a higher numbers of leads&nbsp;for advertisers, so everyone wins!</p>
<p>Want to be alerted via email when the next TSM giveaway is running? <a href="http://bit.ly/UTDailyDigest" target="_blank">Sign up for the Daily Digest here.</a></p>
<p>Want to sponsor the next TSM giveaway and generate interested leads among our thousands of engaged social media followers? <a href="http://bit.ly/tsmadvcontact" target="_blank">Contact our advertising team here.</a></p>
<p><img src="http://i.imgur.com/CaOilfj.png" /></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-teaser field-type-text-with-summary field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Teaser:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 26.65625px;">Now, thanks to the Daily Texan and the rest of Texas Student Media (TSM), the&nbsp;thrill of winning contests&nbsp;doesn&rsquo;t stop in college. Introducing: the TSM Facebook Giveaways.</span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/author/nathan-beddome">Nathan Beddome</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-blog field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Blog:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/super-connected">Super Connected</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-main-image field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Main Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/image/2013/12/03/daily-texan-facebook-giveaways">Daily Texan Facebook giveaways</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-company-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Company:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/company/facebook">Facebook</a></div></div></div>Wed, 04 Dec 2013 04:43:37 +0000hfick29415 at http://dailytexanonline.comhttp://dailytexanonline.com/blogs/super-connected/2013/12/03/new-texan-digital-services-facebook-giveaway-contests-infographic#commentsNew Texan digital services: The Daily Digest, an email newsletterhttp://dailytexanonline.com/blogs/super-connected/2013/11/24/new-ut-digital-advertising-the-daily-digest-an-email-newsletter
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>At the start every semester, UT students&rsquo; inboxes are buzzing with mass emails from professors, organizations and students who can&rsquo;t read the syllabus. Recently, the Daily Texan rolled out a refreshing new email that contains up-to-date and interesting news headlines, keeping the UT community informed of top stories like the recent <a href="http://www.dailytexanonline.com/news/2013/09/25/ut-student-stabbed-with-fork-in-engineering-science-building-suspect-apprehended" target="_blank">fork stabbing</a>, disturbing <a href="http://www.dailytexanonline.com/news/2013/10/21/six-sites-tagged-with-am-graffiti" target="_blank">on-campus A&amp;M graffiti</a> and the latest Longhorns game. Ladies and gentlemen of campus, we proudly present: The Daily Digest.</p>
<p>DT&rsquo;s &ldquo;Delta Project&rdquo; has been working to redesign and reinvent the Texan website, and the digital team has been constructing new and sponsorable platforms like the Daily Digest to engage The Daily Texan&rsquo;s audience. The Daily Texan&rsquo;s objective is to deliver daily news to the UT community, and, in that same spirit, the Daily Digest is a daily newsletter that delivers the top Texan headlines to thousands of UT students, faculty and fans. While some sort of Daily Texan newsletter has been around since 2002, the newly-redesigned digest offers more relevant, engaging content in a simpler, more visually-appealing format.</p>
<p>According to Pew Internet, checking email is the <a href="http://pewinternet.org/Commentary/2012/February/Pew-Internet-Mobile.aspx" target="_blank">third largest task</a> that people perform on their mobile phones.The Daily Texan&rsquo;s mobile traffic has increased by 194 percent in the last year, and, in keeping with these trends, the Daily Digest was converted into a mobile-optimized format. The newsletter&rsquo;s subscriber list has grown by more than 800 percent since May, and the monthly impressions have increased by 1,000 percent. As of last month, the Digest has become the eighth largest monthly traffic source for the Daily Texan website, surpassing ESPN, Reddit and Bing. As the DT Delta Project progresses and more Daily Texan fans become aware of the Daily Digest, it will have an increasingly greater overall digital impact.</p>
<p>On Wednesdays, the Daily Digest also features content from all the Texas Student Media properties like KVRX, TSTV, the Texas Travesty, the Cactus Yearbook&nbsp;and Longhorn Life, in addition to the Daily Texan headlines. This connects the Longhorn community to the latest news and happenings in music, comedy and student-run TV each week.</p>
<p>Want to join the Daily Digest&rsquo;s subscriber list? <a href="http://bit.ly/utdailydigest" target="_blank">Sign up here.</a></p>
<p>Want to advertise and spread your message among our thousands of engaged Daily Digest subscribers? <a href="http://bit.ly/tsmadvertising" target="_blank">Contact our advertising team here.</a></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-teaser field-type-text-with-summary field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Teaser:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 26.65625px;">At the start every semester, UT students&rsquo; inboxes are buzzing with mass emails from professors, organizations and students who can&rsquo;t read the syllabus.&nbsp;</span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/author/nathan-beddome">Nathan Beddome</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-blog field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Blog:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/super-connected">Super Connected</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-main-image field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Main Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/image/2013/11/24/daily-digest">Daily Digest</a></div></div></div>Mon, 25 Nov 2013 01:15:35 +0000hfick29169 at http://dailytexanonline.comhttp://dailytexanonline.com/blogs/super-connected/2013/11/24/new-ut-digital-advertising-the-daily-digest-an-email-newsletter#commentsStudent Government Social Media Guidehttp://dailytexanonline.com/blogs/super-connected/2013/02/19/student-government-social-media-guide
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><h2 style="margin-bottom: 20px; font-size: 26px"><strong>Executive Alliance Candidates</strong></h2>
<div style="float: left; width: 200px;"><img alt="" src="http://i.imgur.com/ZDSmLpP.jpg" width="200" /></div>
<div style="float: left; margin-left: 30px; width: 300px;">
<h3 style="margin-bottom: 10px">Horacio Villarreal and Ugeo Williams</h3>
<ul style="list-style: disc; padding-left: 16px">
<li><a href="http://dailytexanonline.com/news/2013/02/14/student-government-profile-horacio-villarreal-and-ugeo-williams" target="_blank">Daily Texan profile</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.horaciougeo.com/" target="_blank">Website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/HoracioUgeo" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/HoracioUgeo" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="padding-top: 40px; clear: both">
<div style="float: left; width: 200px;"><img alt="" src="http://i.imgur.com/Ga4m1A9.jpg" width="200" /></div>
<div style="float: left; margin-left: 30px; width: 300px;">
<h3 style="margin-bottom: 10px">Ryan Shingledecker and Maddie Fogel</h3>
<ul style="list-style: disc; padding-left: 16px">
<li><a href="http://dailytexanonline.com/news/2013/02/15/student-government-profile-ryan-shingledecker-and-maddie-fogel" target="_blank">Daily Texan profile</a></li>
<li><a href="http://shingofogel.com/" target="_blank">Website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ShingoFogel" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/ShingoFogel" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div style="padding-top: 50px; clear: both">
<div style="float: left; width: 200px;"><img alt="" src="http://i.imgur.com/n7FejLh.jpg" width="200" /></div>
<div style="float: left; margin-left: 30px; width: 300px;">
<h3 style="margin-bottom: 10px">Connie Tao and Ryan Upchurch</h3>
<ul style="list-style: disc; padding-left: 16px">
<li><a href="http://dailytexanonline.com/news/2013/02/14/student-government-profile-connie-tao-and-ryan-upchurch" target="_blank">Daily Texan profile</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/taoupchurchforsg" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/TaoUpchurch" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div style="padding-top: 40px; clear: both">
<div style="float: left; width: 200px;"><img alt="" src="http://i.imgur.com/Fyz0vtw.jpg" width="200" /></div>
<div style="float: left; margin-left: 30px; width: 300px;">
<h3 style="margin-bottom: 10px">Chris Gilman and Alison Stoos</h3>
<ul style="list-style: disc; padding-left: 16px">
<li><a href="http://dailytexanonline.com/news/2013/02/14/student-government-profile-chris-gilman-and-alison-stoos" target="_blank">Daily Texan profile</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/GilmanStoos" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/GilmanStoos2013" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<h2 style="padding-top: 60px; clear: both; font-size: 26px"><strong>Daily Texan Editor-in-Chief Candidates</strong></h2>
<div style="padding-top: 40px; clear: both">
<div style="float: left; width: 200px;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/1ggrnS6.jpg" alt="Bobby Blanchard" width="200" /></div>
<div style="float: left; margin-left: 30px; width: 300px;">
<h3 style="margin-bottom: 10px">Bobby Blanchard</h3>
<ul style="list-style: disc; padding-left: 16px">
<li><a href="http://dailytexanonline.com/author/bobby-blanchard" target="_blank">Daily Texan articles</a></li>
<li><a href="http://votebobbybowtie.com/" target="_blank">Website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/BobbyForEditor">Facebook page</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/333138050139453/">Facebook event</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/bobbycblanchard">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/bobbyforeditor">YouTube</a></li>
<li><a href="http://votebobby4editor.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div style="padding-top: 40px; clear: both">
<div style="float: left; width: 200px;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/3YvWGog.jpg" alt="Laura Wright" width="200" style="marin-bottom: 26px" /></div>
<div style="float: left; margin-left: 30px; width: 300px;">
<h3 style="margin-bottom: 10px">Laura Wright</h3>
<ul style="list-style: disc; padding-left: 16px">
<li><a href="http://dailytexanonline.com/author/laura-wright" target="_blank">Daily Texan articles</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.wrightforthetexan.com/" target="_blank">Website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/VoteLauraWrightForEditorOfTheDailyTexan">Facebook page</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/426495237425551/">Facebook event</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/wrightforeditor">Twitter</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-teaser field-type-text-with-summary field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Teaser:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Avoiding the West Mall? Find out what the candidates are saying online.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-blog field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Blog:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/super-connected">Super Connected</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-facility-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Facility:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/facility/west-mall">West Mall</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-person-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Person:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/person/laura-wright">Laura Wright</a></div></div></div>Wed, 20 Feb 2013 00:55:08 +0000hfick21701 at http://dailytexanonline.comhttp://dailytexanonline.com/blogs/super-connected/2013/02/19/student-government-social-media-guide#commentsThe new Myspace at a glancehttp://dailytexanonline.com/blogs/super-connected/2012/12/11/the-new-myspace-at-a-glance
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>I screamed when I finally got the email <a href="https://new.myspace.com/" target="_blank">invite I signed up for</a>, something I had been dying to get since first seeing the preview video two months ago. The preview was fluid and creative and beautiful but I was very curious as to how the revamped social media platform would actually work.</p>
<p>As a disclaimer, I&rsquo;m on the lookout for new social platforms, I obviously self selected into this beta trial and I have been disenchanted with Facebook for some time, so I may be more forgiving of the new Myspace&rsquo;s flaws than most. I&rsquo;m viewing the site on a PC using Google Chrome. This acrostic below represents my first impression and is not meant to be a definitive analysis.</p>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="401" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/50071857?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;badge=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe></p>
<p><a href="http://vimeo.com/50071857">The new Myspace</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/myspace">Myspace</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Music:</strong> Where Facebook failed miserably, Myspace triumphs as it always has. Circa 2007, Myspace was a medium where you watched your favorite &ldquo;little known&rdquo; bands get famous. Right now the new Myspace is mostly dominated by the big names like Beyonce and Taylor Swift, but there are some surprising smaller artists like T. Mills and Big Chocolate making an appearance. Facebook made music a hassle through the use of outside apps like Bandpage, but every inch of the new Myspace is designed intuitively with music in mind. On top of being able to create custom mixes that you can assign a photo to and choose the privacy level of, you can queue up music or radio stations to listen to continuously while moving throughout the whole site.</p>
<p><strong>You:</strong> The new Myspace is a blank canvas just for you. It&rsquo;s not the place to reconnect with old friends, but it is the place to reconnect with an old favorite song and people who also have an affinity (even though I&rsquo;m still trying to figure out how it&rsquo;s calculated myspace measures affinity now) for that song. It&rsquo;s cool and very confusing to use, so hopefully this will keep the parents and grandparents away. The problem is that to truly get the full experience, the new Myspace will suck up a lot of your time as well. From remembering how to get to things to endless amounts of media to &ldquo;discover&rdquo;, it&rsquo;s definitely not the place to take a quick study break.</p>
<p><strong>Streamlined:</strong> Your &ldquo;stream&rdquo; on Myspace is equivalent to your newsfeed on Facebook or your home on Twitter. It collects bits from all the things you connect to (we&rsquo;ll get to that part later) and displays them. At first glance, what makes the Myspace stream so different and in my opinion better than its counterparts is the horizontal scrolling feature. Scrolling through the content from left to right is a very natural way to read. It reminds me of the way reading is typically done on tablets, especially on apps like Flipboard which consolidates your social networks into a feed that&rsquo;s visually appealing and well as the name denotes something you can flip through like a magazine.</p>
<p><strong>People:</strong> This will obviously make or break the new Myspace. If it is invite only for too long like Google+ was in the beginning those only slightly interested or simply content with the social networks they currently maintain may not have the attention span to wait for it. It incorporates a lot original elements that mimic other tools people use like the music steaming on Spotify, video streaming on YouTube, posts that have a 150 character limit similar to Twitter&rsquo;s 140 character limit, and feed that lets you scroll through it all. The question is, does Myspace master each of these elements enough to convince you to save time by ditching your other tools and consolidating it all on one site. At this point the answer is no, partially because there is a definite learning curve that comes with the new platform and partially because it is doing so many things that it doesn&rsquo;t take the time to perfect each like the individual tools do.</p>
<p><strong>Affinity: </strong>When you hover over a person, artist, song, etc. a Venn diagram appears with an overall affinity percentage and percentages broken down into the categories of music, connections and activity. I have affinity percentages with artists I haven&rsquo;t connected to. Does this mean that connections of connections can also determine affinity? Or connecting to similar types of artists can determine affinity?</p>
<p><strong>Connect:</strong> Connect is the new Myspace&rsquo;s verb. It serves the purpose of both the &ldquo;add friend&rdquo; and the &ldquo;like&rdquo; on Facebook and the &ldquo;follow&rdquo; on Twitter. It is both ambiguous and impersonal. You use the connect feature to connect with your best friend, Jay Z, the song &ldquo;Call Me Maybe&rdquo;, and a Michael Jackson music video.</p>
<p><strong>Enigma:</strong> I still have a lot of questions like how exactly uploading photos and creating photo albums will be and how the old Myspace, Myspace Classic as they&rsquo;re calling it, integrates with the new Myspace. How will the mobile experience change? Will there be a tablet app with similar new features?</p>
<p>I simply created a new account instead of facing the shame of my old one, and the invite only status makes for a lonely site so far. For now, I&rsquo;m simply swimming in the vast sea of media the new Myspace offers because I&rsquo;m not too sure how the friend, you know the people you actually know in real life, part will work yet.</p>
<p>It&rsquo;s definitely worth a try.<a href="https://new.myspace.com/" target="_blank"> Request an invite</a>. Friend me! If that phrase is still applicable. There&rsquo;s a lot to work with here. Let&rsquo;s figure it out together.</p>
<p>Goodbye Tom. Hello Justin Timberlake.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-teaser field-type-text-with-summary field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Teaser:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Music: Where Facebook failed miserably, Myspace triumphs as it always has.&nbsp;</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/author/hayley-fick">Hayley Fick</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-blog field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Blog:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/super-connected">Super Connected</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-company-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Company:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/company/google">Google</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/company/facebook">Facebook</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/company/myspace">Myspace</a></div></div></div>Tue, 11 Dec 2012 11:23:01 +0000hfick18785 at http://dailytexanonline.comhttp://dailytexanonline.com/blogs/super-connected/2012/12/11/the-new-myspace-at-a-glance#commentsTexas football and Twitter: Natalie Portman ventures into new territoryhttp://dailytexanonline.com/blogs/super-connected/2012/10/21/texas-football-and-twitter-natalie-portman-ventures-into-new
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Natalie Portman, the non-Texan, non-Longhorn, #twitterless actress created a buzz at the University of Texas at Austin&#39;s Darrell K. Royal stadium during the UT vs. Baylor football game.</p>
<p>Though it may seem like a strange PR move, some celebrities are simply not active on social media. Luckily, loyal fans did Portman&#39;s work for her on Twitter tonight.</p>
<p>Read a social media mashup and interactive analysis of the Natalie Portman sighting on <a href="http://storify.com/thedailytexan/texas-football-and-twitter-natalie-portman-venture#" target="_blank">The Daily Texan&#39;s Storify</a>.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-teaser field-type-text-with-summary field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Teaser:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span style="font-size: 16px; ">The non-Texan, non-Longhorn, #twitterless actress creates a buzz at the University of Texas at Austin&#39;s Darrell K. Royal stadium during the UT vs. Baylor football game.</span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/author/hayley-fick">Hayley Fick</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-blog field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Blog:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/super-connected">Super Connected</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-company-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Company:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/company/twitter">Twitter</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-facility-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Facility:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/facility/darrell-k-royal-stadium">Darrell K. Royal Stadium</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/facility/university-of-texas">University of Texas</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-industryterm-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">IndustryTerm:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/industry-term/social-media">social media</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-organization-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Organization:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/organization/university-of-texas-at-austin">University of Texas at Austin</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-person-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Person:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/person/natalie-portman">Natalie Portman</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-position-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Position:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/position/twitterless-actress">#twitterless actress</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-provinceorstate-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">ProvinceOrState:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/province-or-state/texas">Texas</a></div></div></div>Sun, 21 Oct 2012 08:00:08 +0000hfick17085 at http://dailytexanonline.comhttp://dailytexanonline.com/blogs/super-connected/2012/10/21/texas-football-and-twitter-natalie-portman-ventures-into-new#commentsTexas State grad uses social media to inspire students to dream bighttp://dailytexanonline.com/blogs/super-connected/2012/10/10/texas-state-grad-uses-social-media-to-inspire-students-to-dream-big
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Dance in the Boston Ballet. Play in the New York Philharmonic. Cure cancer. Become the first woman president. Write a book. Open a restaurant. These were few of the hundreds of ambitions that were scrawled across a board by UT students last week. Many hesitated to write down their deepest passions, maybe in fear of receiving judgmental looks or believing that their goals were simply ridiculous and unreachable.</p>
<p>On October 3 and 4, 25-year-old Russ Garcia visited the UT campus in hopes of encouraging students that their dreams were in fact obtainable. He presented four 4&rsquo;x8&rsquo; boards that displayed the quote: &ldquo;If you could pursue your dream with no fear of failure, what would you do?&rdquo; The board, which took Garcia nearly two weeks to construct, encouraged students to write down dreams and visions of their ideal future.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The boards are just a way of sharing the message that whatever it is that is important to your dream and passion, then that is what you should make sacrifices towards pursuing,&rdquo; Garcia stated.</p>
<p>Over the past month, Garcia visited Texas State, where he graduated from two years ago, and UTSA to promote his project, <a href="http://theworldonmyback.com/wp/" target="_blank">theworldonmyback.com</a>. The website was launched in May shortly after he decided to drop everything&mdash;his marketing job and long-term girlfriend&mdash; to pursue his aspiration of volunteering and backpacking across South America.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to do something that doesn&rsquo;t allow me to grow and challenge myself and be the person that I would like to be,&rdquo; said Garcia. &ldquo;I knew I had the desire to do something else for a reason.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Last week, Garcia&rsquo;s project was also featured on two San Antonio morning news shows, San Antonio Living and Great Day SA.</p>
<p>Garcia plans to post video and photo updates on the website of his backpacking trip, which will begin in Lima, Peru on October 11. For the first month and a half, cameraman Darren Fitch, a graduate of the USC film school, will accompany Garcia on his expedition. After that, Garcia will be traveling solo.</p>
<p>Garcia lives by the motto, &ldquo;Sometimes, you just gotta jump&rdquo;, which is also featured on the website as well as his T-Shirts that people can buy to help support his dream adventure. Garcia hopes his example will be an inspiration for students to take risks to achieve their ultimate goals.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I would rather have a life of &lsquo;oh well&rsquo;s&rsquo; than a life of &lsquo;what if&rsquo;s,&rsquo;&rdquo; Garcia said.</p>
<p>Garcia also plans to type up the thousands of entries that students wrote on the boards across the three campuses and turn it into a blog series titled, &ldquo;You may say I&rsquo;m a dreamer, but I&rsquo;m not the only one,&rdquo; after the John Lennon song.</p>
<p>Garcia has faith that his trip will help him grow both personally and creatively. He is eager to learn Spanish and Portuguese, be immersed in new cultures, and volunteer with those who are in need.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I believe that being out of one&#39;s comfort zone forces them to grow, just out of sheer necessity to adapt,&rdquo; Garcia said. &ldquo;That type of growth can only be achieved by pushing one&#39;s boundaries.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
Garcia had one final message that he wanted to get across.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Life is too short to not pursue [your dream]. You&rsquo;re going to be doing something, so you might as well do what you want to, risk, and take a little bit of a leap. If not that, then what?&rdquo;</p>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pYXwE-tCZ08?rel=0" width="640"></iframe></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-teaser field-type-text-with-summary field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Teaser:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The website was launched in May shortly after he decided to drop everything to pursue his aspiration of volunteering and backpacking across South America.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/author/angela-bumstead">Angela Bumstead</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-blog field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Blog:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/super-connected">Super Connected</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-main-image field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Main Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/image/2012/10/09/russ-garcia">Russ Garcia</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-person-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Person:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/person/russ-garcia">Russ Garcia</a></div></div></div>Wed, 10 Oct 2012 06:22:08 +0000hfick16692 at http://dailytexanonline.comhttp://dailytexanonline.com/blogs/super-connected/2012/10/10/texas-state-grad-uses-social-media-to-inspire-students-to-dream-big#commentsVaccaro defends comments about DKRhttp://dailytexanonline.com/blogs/super-connected/2012/09/21/vaccaro-defends-comments-about-dkr
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Did you like our <a href="http://www.dailytexanonline.com/blog/super-connected/2012/09/07/digital-media-fights-its-roots" target="_blank">social media mashup</a> about The Daily Texan news boxes last week? Similarly, a Daily Texan <a href="http://www.dailytexanonline.com/football/2012/09/10/ut-football-players-excited-first-away-game" target="_blank">article</a> in which Longhorn safety Kenny Vaccaro was asked whether he likes playing on the road better than at home has gone viral. What started as an honest opinion by Longhorn safety Kenny Vaccaro ended up as a Twitter rally.</p>
<p><a href="http://storify.com/thedailytexan/vacarro-defends-comments-about-dkr" target="_blank">To see how the story unfolded on twitter view &quot;Vacarro defends comments about DKR&quot; on The Daily Texan&#39;s Storify</a></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-teaser field-type-text-with-summary field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Teaser:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>What started as an honest opinion by Longhorn safety Kenny Vaccaro ended up as a Twitter rally.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-old-nid field-type-number-integer field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Old Content NID:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">14 911</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/author/hayley-fick">Hayley Fick</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-blog field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Blog:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/super-connected">Super Connected</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-person-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Person:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/person/kenny-vaccaro">Kenny Vaccaro</a></div></div></div>Thu, 13 Sep 2012 06:27:56 +0000migrator15203 at http://dailytexanonline.comDigital media fights for its rootshttp://dailytexanonline.com/blogs/super-connected/2012/09/21/digital-media-fights-for-its-roots
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>News of the new media building outcasting old media <a href="http://dailytexanonline.com/university/2012/09/06/news-boxes-not-welcome-new-journalism-building" target="_blank">was spread Thursday morning</a> perhaps ironically through new media.</p>
<p>After a request to put a Daily Texan box in front of the <a href="http://communication.utexas.edu/support/new-building" target="_blank">Belo Center for New Media</a> was denied, an online firestorm resulted in backlash for the <a href="http://communication.utexas.edu/" target="_blank">College of Communication</a>. The Dean announced Thursday afternoon the college would design and place a Daily Texan box somewhere on site.</p>
<p>But first, Twitter blew up with hundreds of tweets. The story also got more than 4,000 hits before noon of the morning it was published and was picked up by <a href="http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/187645/university-of-texas-journalism-school-bans-newspaper-boxes/" target="_blank">Poynter</a>, <a href="http://collegemediamatters.com/2012/09/06/daily-texan-newsstands-not-allowed-at-journalism-school-due-to-environmental-concerns/" target="_blank">College Media Matters</a> and <a href="http://jimromenesko.com/2012/09/06/the-j-school-thats-too-beautiful-to-risk-being-littered-with-newspapers/" target="_blank">JimRomenesko.com</a>.</p>
<p>Patrick George, reporter for the <a href="http://www.statesman.com/" target="_blank">Austin-American Statesman</a>, first tweeted the story from The Daily Texan:</p>
<p><a href="http://imgur.com/FC1Dc"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/FC1Dc.jpg" width="640" /></a></p>
<p>So <a href="https://twitter.com/thedailytexan" target="_blank">The Daily Texan&#39;s Twitter account</a> asked its followers what they thought of the Belo Center for New Media not placing any news boxes in front of the building that houses the School of Journalism:</p>
<p>&nbsp; <a href="http://imgur.com/ANGDN"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/ANGDN.jpg" width="640" /> </a></p>
<p>The issue was not just about news boxes. College of Communication administration had cited concerns that the presence of news boxes would attract litter to a building that was striving to be as enviornmentally friendly as possible. However, faculty from the School of Journalism found it to be a mistake that there were no student newspapers outside the building that houses the School of Journalism.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, people online at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/#!/dailytexan" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, Twitter and The Daily Texan&#39;s comment section debated the greater significance of this issue:</p>
<p><a href="http://imgur.com/Xou8n"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/Xou8n.jpg" width="640" /></a></p>
<p>Soon, users expressed varying degrees of disapproval:</p>
<p><a href="http://imgur.com/6z5IX"><img alt="" src="http://i.imgur.com/6z5IX.jpg" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a></p>
<p>College of Communication administrators&#39; concerns about the environment stemmed from the fact that the Belo Center for New Media is striving to get the &quot;silver certification&quot; from the <a href="http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19" target="_blank">U.S. Green Building Council&rsquo;s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design</a>. People weighed in on the environmental impacts:</p>
<p><a href="http://imgur.com/QRbAG"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/QRbAG.jpg" width="640" /> </a></p>
<p>And the College of Communication was further concerned the news boxes would take away a &quot;certain look&quot; from the plaza. Some supported the effort for mantaining the aesthetic:</p>
<p><a href="http://imgur.com/HTkKn"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/HTkKn.jpg" width="640" /> </a></p>
<p>And others did not:</p>
<p><a href="http://imgur.com/N1jr8"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/N1jr8.jpg" width="640" /> </a></p>
<p>The College of Communication further argued that there are boxes right across the street, which some people sympathized with. Others also believed physical papers are no longer relevant in today&#39;s world of journalism.</p>
<p><a href="http://imgur.com/hE8Bi"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/hE8Bi.jpg" width="640" /> </a></p>
<p>But while some people think we should stop old media and kill it in its tracks, others believe we should nicely help the old guy across the street. Glenn Frankel, director of the School of Journalism, said the support online shows a support for print media.</p>
<p>&quot;It does not surprise me that people react strongly when print media is taken away,&quot; said Frankel. &quot;I think there is still a lot of support out there in the world of journalism and news for traditional legacy media, and legacy platforms like print.&quot;</p>
<p>After several hours of online backlash, the Dean of the College of Communication emailed The Daily Texan that it would place a newly designed Texan news box in front of the Belo Center for New Media.</p>
<p><a href="http://imgur.com/fD2pq"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/fD2pq.jpg" width="640" /> </a></p>
<p>Following <a href="http://www.dailytexanonline.com/university/2012/09/07/college-communication-relents-welcomes-back-texan-news-box-belo" target="_blank">the announcement</a>, Twitter users celebrated the &quot;power of the press&quot; that restored print media and kept a strong bridge between digital media and its roots:</p>
<p><a href="http://imgur.com/O2wxi"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/O2wxi.jpg" width="640" /></a></p>
<p>At the end of the day, the story was printed in traditional journalism. But it was spread most heavily via digital media, i.e. new media. Instead of leaving him behind, new media fought for grandpa.</p>
<p><em>Additional reporting by Bobby Blanchard.</em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-teaser field-type-text-with-summary field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Teaser:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Instead of leaving him behind, new media fought for grandpa.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-old-nid field-type-number-integer field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Old Content NID:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">14 699</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/author/hayley-fick">Hayley Fick</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-blog field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Blog:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/super-connected">Super Connected</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-company-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Company:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/company/twitter">Twitter</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-facility-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Facility:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/facility/college-of-communication">College of Communication</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-organization-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Organization:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/organization/college-of-communication">College of Communication</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/organization/center-for-new-media">Center for New Media</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/organization/school-of-journalism">School of Journalism</a></div></div></div>Fri, 07 Sep 2012 05:48:10 +0000migrator15188 at http://dailytexanonline.comPrevalent malware shakes Mac's credibilityhttp://dailytexanonline.com/blogs/super-connected/2012/04/15/prevalent-malware-shakes-macs-credibility
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>For many Mac lovers around the world, the unthinkable has happened. The <a href="http://flashbackcheck.com/" target="_blank">Flashback</a> malware, manifesting itself primarily as a fake Flash Player update, has infected over 600,000 Mac OS X users worldwide since its onset in September 2011, making it the most pandemic of Mac viruses thus far.</p>
<p>This incident seems particularly catastrophic because Apple has given off the vibe in their advertisements that Mac users simply need not worry about viruses. Are Macs&rsquo; security features actually impenetrable?</p>
<p>There are significantly <a href="http://www.howtogeek.com/76628/online-safety-who-says-macs-dont-get-viruses" target="_blank">fewer known viruses</a> for Macs than for PCs: 200 compared to PC&rsquo;s 140,000 last year. But there are also fewer Macs than PCs in existence, suggesting that Apple may be garnering much of their defense from a &lsquo;security by minority&rsquo; strategy. Less users ultimately means less chance for the spread of malware and less profit for malware creators. An increase in Mac ownership could lead to a decrease in security.</p>
<p>As of January, Macs still only made up about <a href="http://www.cultofmac.com/139839/mac-market-share-continues-to-rise-while-pc-shipments-decline-report" target="_blank">11.6 percent</a> of the personal computer market share, but they are inching dangerously close to the predicted 16 percent market share ownership that would motivate profit-driven virus creators to capitalize on Mac OS X malware creation as more than just a niche market. In the meantime, how should Mac users remove the Flashback malware and protect their Macs from further security breaches?</p>
<p>Few will criticize Apple&rsquo;s ability to churn out updates. The update issued on April 3 mends the security flaw in Java that allowed Flashback to latch on, but it is only for Mac OS X v 10.6 and higher. Companies like F-secure have released free automatic removal tools, as well as manual removal instructions, the only sure fire method according to UT&rsquo;s IT department, that should also be accompanied by an anti-virus software for future protection.</p>
<p>This unforeseen incident probably isn&rsquo;t reason enough alone to abandon hope in Apple, especially for loyal fans, but it does warrant extra precaution when using your Mac.<br />
&nbsp;</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-teaser field-type-text-with-summary field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Teaser:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>For many Mac lovers around the world, the unthinkable has happened: a trojan virus has landed for OSX.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-old-nid field-type-number-integer field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Old Content NID:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">12 970</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/author/hayley-fick">Hayley Fick</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-blog field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Blog:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/super-connected">Super Connected</a></div></div></div>Mon, 16 Apr 2012 03:53:40 +0000migrator11577 at http://dailytexanonline.comSeveral sites strive to celebrate April Fool's http://dailytexanonline.com/blogs/super-connected/2012/04/02/several-sites-strive-to-celebrate-april-fools
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>In what has become a sort of Internet tradition, popular sites across the Web played April Fools&rsquo; Day pranks on their users. The tomfoolery varied in scope and cleverness, but few sites failed to sneak their own little joke in.</p>
<p>Google stole the show, with nearly every branch of the site seeming to have its own dedicated joke. Google Maps introduced a new platform to its arsenal: the original 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System. Curious users could trial the &ldquo;Quest Mode&rdquo; on the maps page, which rendered the world accurately in amusingly dated 2-D graphics. Google&rsquo;s Chrome browser trotted out a multitask feature where you can use two mice at once to double your productivity.</p>
<p>Not to be outdone, Google&rsquo;s child company, YouTube, introduced a feature long in-demand: the ability to order the entire &ldquo;YouTube Collection&rdquo; of videos on DVD, so that when your Internet connection goes down yet again, you won&rsquo;t have to wait for it to come back to see your favorite funny cat videos.</p>
<p>Funny cats were also the subject of Kodak&rsquo;s and AdBlock&rsquo;s pranks. Kodak offered a new &ldquo;print-a-kitten&rdquo; kiosk, while AdBlock, rather than making ads disappear, replaced them with pictures of adorable cats.</p>
<p>Popular content-sharing website Reddit introduced a Facebook-esque &ldquo;Timeline&rdquo; feature, where users could see Reddit posts from the distant past &mdash; and the future. ThinkGeek brought out a series of new &ldquo;products&rdquo; including an Admiral Ackbar Singing Bass, a Game of Thrones Fire and Blood Perfume and more.</p>
<p>Disappointing though it may be to realize these features aren&rsquo;t real, the Internet&rsquo;s efforts to one-up itself in silliness and humor at each April&rsquo;s start are ceaselessly amusing.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-teaser field-type-text-with-summary field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Teaser:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Popular sites across the Web played April Fools&rsquo; Day pranks on their users.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-old-nid field-type-number-integer field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Old Content NID:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">12 528</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/author/william-snyder">William Snyder</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-blog field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Blog:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/super-connected">Super Connected</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-main-image field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Main Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/image/2012/04/03/webapril-fools-googlejpg">WEB_April Fools - Google.jpg</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-company-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Company:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/company/google">Google</a></div></div></div>Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:59:06 +0000migrator11561 at http://dailytexanonline.com